Loki; A Bad God's Guide to Being Good by Louie Stowel

Packed with doodles and cartoons, this is the wry, witty and very funny diary of Norse god Loki and the trials of being trapped on Earth as a weedy eleven-year-old boy.

After one prank too many, trickster god Loki is banished to live as a "normal" school boy. If he can show moral improvement within one month, then Loki can return to Asgard ... and if he can't? Then it's eternity in a pit of angry snakes. To keep track of his progress, Odin has handed over this magical diary in which Loki is forced to confess the truth. (Even when that truth is as ugly as a naked mole-rat.) As if moral improvement and the indignities of school weren't challenging enough, Loki is banned from using his awesome godly powers and (even worse) must put up with Thor tagging along and making him look bad. Anyone reading Loki's diary is about to learn that this is one god who hasn’t a clue how to tell good from bad, trust from tricks, or friends from enemies...

#Bookpost! Week ending 28th November 21

Happy Tuesday, all! This is a drive-by book post I'm afraid, but we are really looking forward to reading these books! We'll be busy, for sure!

You'll be the Death of Me by Karen McManus

Ivy, Mateo, and Cal used to be close. Back in middle school they were best friends. So, when Cal pulls into campus late for class, and runs into Ivy and Mateo, it seems like the perfect opportunity to turn a bad day around. They'll ditch school and go into the city. Just the three of them, like old times. Why did they stop hanging out, anyway?

As soon as they pull out of the parking lot Cal knows why. Ivy's already freaking out about missing class, and heartthrob Mateo is asleep in the backseat, too cool to even pretend like he wants to be there. The truth is they have nothing in common anymore.

At least they don't until they run into the fourth student ditching school that day. Brian "Boney" Mahoney is supposed to be accepting his newly won office of class president. Which is why Ivy follows him into an empty building, only to walk into the middle of a murder scene. Cal, Ivy, and Mateo all know the person lying on the ground of that building, and now they need to come clean. They're all hiding something. And maybe their chance reconnection wasn't by chance after all.

Blogtour: When Shadows Fall by Sita Brahmachari and Natalie Sirett

Kai, Orla and Zak grew up together, their days spent on the patch of wilderness in between their homes, a small green space in a sprawling grey city. Music, laughter and friendship bind them together and they have big plans for their future - until Kai’s family suffers a huge loss.

Trying to cope with his own grief, as well as watching it tear his family apart, Kai is drawn into a more dangerous crowd, until his dreams for the future are a distant memory. Excluded from school and retreating from his loved ones, it seems as though his path is set, his story foretold. Orla, Zak and classmate Om are determined to help him find his way back. But are they too late?

Weekly roundup

Happy Sunday, all! This week was practically back to normal as we (mostly) finished up with NaNo and got back on track.

The Maid by Nita Prose (some spoilers unmarked in review)

A charmingly eccentric hotel maid discovers a guest murdered in his bed. Solving the mystery will turn her once orderly world upside down...

Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misinterprets the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by.

Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has had to navigate life’s complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection.

But Molly’s orderly life is turned on its head the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself very dead in his bed. Before she knows what’s happening, Molly’s unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it’s too late?

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

Growing up on the moon, Xingyin is accustomed to solitude, unaware that she is being hidden from the feared Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother for stealing his elixir of immortality. But when Xingyin’s magic flares and her existence is discovered, she is forced to flee her home, leaving her mother behind.

Alone, powerless, and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity, she seizes an opportunity to learn alongside the emperor's son, mastering archery and magic, even as passion flames between her and the prince.

To save her mother, Xingyin embarks on a perilous quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies across the earth and skies. But when treachery looms and forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, she must challenge the ruthless Celestial Emperor for her dream—striking a dangerous bargain in which she is torn between losing all she loves or plunging the realm into chaos.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess begins an enchanting, romantic duology which weaves ancient Chinese mythology into a sweeping adventure of immortals and magic—where love vies with honor, dreams are fraught with betrayal, and hope emerges triumphant.

Happy #BookBirthday!

Happy Bookbirthday, all! We have two books on our lists this week.

Blogtour: My First Animal Moves by Darryl Edwards

Nathan loves to play, but he loves his video games more.

Can a trip to Animal Moves land convince him there’s more fun outdoors? Best-selling author and speaker Darryl Edwards has created this fun adventure inspired by his passion for encouraging kids to move in an ever-increasing sedentary environment.

MY FIRST ANIMAL MOVES

Discover the joys of animal moves with your little cubs in this first book of movement. Join Nathan and his cute, but sometimes lazy, dog as they crawl, jump and balance their way through the animal kingdom re-enacting moves designed to emphasise fun. It’s all in this exercise for kids book that focuses on family fun boredom busters.

Welcome to the book tour for My First Animal Moves by Darryl Edwards. This book will get kids and parents moving!

Wish you were Here by Jodi Piccoult (unmarked spoilers in review)

Diana O’Toole is perfectly on track. She will be married by thirty, done having kids by thirty-five, and move out to the New York City suburbs, all while climbing the professional ladder in the cutthroat art auction world. She’s not engaged just yet, but she knows her boyfriend, Finn, a surgical resident, is about to propose on their romantic getaway to the Galápagos—days before her thirtieth birthday. Right on time.

But then a virus that felt worlds away has appeared in the city, and on the eve of their departure, Finn breaks the news: It’s all hands on deck at the hospital. He has to stay behind. You should still go, he assures her, since it would be a shame for all of their nonrefundable trip to go to waste. And so, reluctantly, she goes.

Almost immediately, Diana’s dream vacation goes awry. The whole island is now under quarantine, and she is stranded until the borders reopen. Completely isolated, she must venture beyond her comfort zone. Slowly, she carves out a connection with a local family when a teenager with a secret opens up to Diana, despite her father’s suspicion of outsiders.

Diana finds herself examining her relationships, her choices, and herself—and wondering if when she goes home, she too will have evolved into someone completely different.

#Bookpost!

Happy Tuesday! The end of Nano is in sight and we are tentatively starting to read again, so hopefully we'll be back on schedule soon! For now, we received some amazing books and have already read and reviewed one because we just couldn't wait.

The Macmillan Fairy Tales Collection

A beautiful hardback treasury, containing over fifty fairy tales from around the world, introduced by award-winning author Michael Morpurgo. The perfect gift for fairy tale lovers of all ages.

This glorious collection contains much-loved favourites from Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm, such as The Little Mermaid, Rapunzel and Hansel and Gretel, alongside lesser known fairy tales, such as the Chinese story of Bayberry, who rescues his sister, Little Red, from a devious dragon.

Bringing together amazing stories from across the world, there are tales of witches from Russia, tree ghosts from India, magical moon spirits from Japan and many more. Fully illustrated throughout, with beautiful colour and line-work images from iconic Golden Age illustrators, including Arthur Rackham, Walter Crane and Warwick Goble.

A sumptuous 480 page gift hardback, complete with a foiled cut-through cover, gold foiled edges and a ribbon marker, The Macmillan Fairy Tales Collection is a book to share and treasure.

Weekly roundup

Happy Sunday! Another quiet week. We've been hit by the dreaded Third Week NaNo Blahs, but we're all more or less on track still!

Girls of Fate and Fury by Natasha Ngan

The final pages of Girls of Storm and Shadow brought a jaw-dropping conclusion that had the fates of Lei and Wren hanging in uncertainty. But one thing was certain - the Hidden Palace was the last place that Lei would ever consider home. The trauma and tragedy she suffered behind those opulent walls would plague her forever. She could not be trapped there with the sadistic king again, especially without Wren.

The last Lei saw of the girl she loved, Wren was fighting an army of soldiers in a furious battle to the death. With the two girls torn apart and each in terrorizing peril, will they find each other again or have their destinies diverged forever?

Girls of Fate and Fury is the epic conclusion to the "glittering" and "adrenaline-soaked" series by Natasha Ngan, hailed as "a stunning, new talent" for her "beautiful, lush, lyrical" writing.

Happy #BookBirthday

 Happy #BookBirthday!...but there are no books from our lists publishing this week, so this is just a general wish to everyone publishing this week. I hope your book sells the best!

The Sugar Skull Tarot Deck and Guidebook by David A Ross and Caroline Martinez

This light-hearted, beautifully illustrated deck and guidebook brings the spiritual mysticism of sugar skulls to a fresh interpretation of each of the major and minor arcana to help you hone your intuition.

Sugar skulls, or calaveras, are traditionally made by hand to celebrate the Mexican celebration of Day of the Dead, or Dia de Muertos. Colorful and lovingly crafted, they are offerings for loved ones who have passed into the spirit realm.

The sugar skulls depicted throughout this deck are there to remind us of our spiritual journey and help us reach our full potential. Just as the Fool progresses throughout the entirety of the Major Arcana, we all have our own personal journeys that are represented through the tarot.

Whether it’s the Magician shooting the sugar skull bullseye, the High Priestess seeing her reflection in the water (thus revealing her inner truth in the form of a sugar skull), or the Fool feeling confident that he will create and manifest the perfect sugar skull by the time he finishes his journey, we all have an unrealized version of our true potential. The Sugar Skull Tarot Deck and Guidebook offers a refreshing new take on a timeless tradition and is the perfect tool to recognize the inner potential inside each of us. Let the brightly colored illustrations offer you all the inspiration you need to be the best person you can truly be so you can present a more accurate representation of yourself—confident, magical, and ready to give and receive love—to the world.

#Bookpost!

Happy Tuesday! This is a very quick update of the three books we were lucky enough to receive this week!

Weekly roundup

Happy Sunday all! This week was a lot lighter than most as we're into the dreaded week two of Nano. We are all just about still keeping up!

Happy #BookBirthday!

Happy Thursday, all! This week we had SIX books on our lists publish.

Never Fall for Your Fiancee by Virginia Heath

The last thing Hugh Standish, Earl of Fareham, ever wants is a wife. Unfortunately for him, his mother is determined to find him one, even from across the other side of the ocean. So, Hugh invents a fake fiancée to keep his mother’s matchmaking ways at bay. But when Hugh learns his interfering mother is on a ship bound for England, he realizes his complicated, convoluted but convenient ruse is about to implode. Until he collides with a beautiful woman, who might just be the miracle he needs.

Minerva Merriwell has had to struggle to support herself and her two younger sisters ever since their feckless father abandoned them. Work as a woodcut engraver is few and far between, and the Merriwell sisters are nearly penniless. So, when Hugh asks Minerva to pose as his fiancée while his mother is visiting, she knows that while the scheme sounds ludicrous, the offer is too good to pass up.

Once Minerva and her sisters arrive at Hugh's estate, of course, nothing goes according to his meticulous plan. As hilarity and miscommunication ensue, while everyone tries to keep their tangled stories straight, Hugh and Minerva’s fake engagement starts to turn into a real romance. But can they trust each other, when their relationship started with a lie?

#Bookpost! Week ending 7th November

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Because of due dates, we have actually already read and reviewed almost HALF the books we got last week! Yeah, impressive, right? That's a whole two books, yep!

Margot Mertz Takes it Down by Carrie McCrossen and Ian McWethy

Veronica Mars meets Moxie in this hilarious and biting YA contemporary novel following Margot Mertz, a girl who runs an internet cleanup business and embarks on a quest to take down a revenge-porn site targeting the girls in her school.

For the right price, high school junior Margot Mertz will go to the ends of the internet to remove your nip-slip, dick pic, or embarrassing DM. At least that’s what it says on her business card. Margot founded a now notorious company that helps students, teachers, even a local weatherman, discreetly clean up their digital shame. And since her parents lost her college fund, Margot is happy to work for anyone…if they can pay, she can clean.

But when a fellow student hires her to take down some leaked nudes, Margot discovers a secret revenge porn site featuring Roosevelt High girls. And hell hath no fury like Margot when she sees girls’ butts shared without their consent. With the help of an unwitting ally, the popular and uncomfortably handsome Avery Green, Margot will gain access to the far flung cliques of Roosevelt High. Anything to find the mastermind (read: asshole) behind the site. But the more she digs, the deeper and darker the case becomes until Margot realizes that some jobs are so dirty, no one can come away clean. Even her. Gross.

Weekly roundup

Happy Sunday, all! You'll be glad that know that we are all still on target for completing NaNoWriMo, although with a certain amount of project-switching...

Because of due dates, this was a very busy week despite being the first week of NaNo, so here's the roundup in case you missed anything.

Feather and Flame (Queen's Council 2) by Livia Blackburne

She brought honor on the battlefield. Now comes a new kind of war...

The war is over. Now a renowned hero, Mulan spends her days in her home village, training a militia of female warriors. The peace is a welcome one, and she knows it must be protected.

When Shang arrives with an invitation to the Imperial City, Mulan’s relatively peaceful life is upended once more. The aging emperor decrees that Mulan will be his heir to the throne. Such unimagined power and responsibility terrifies her, but who can say no to the Emperor?

As Mulan ascends into the halls of power, it becomes clear that not everyone is on her side. Her ministers undermine her, and the Huns sense a weakness in the throne. When hints of treachery appear even amongst those she considers friends, Mulan has no idea whom she can trust.

But the Queen’s Council helps Mulan uncover her true destiny. With renewed strength and the wisdom of those that came before her, Mulan will own her power, save her country, and prove once again that, crown or helmet, she was always meant to lead. This fierce reimagining of the girl who became a warrior blends fairy-tale lore and real history with a Disney twist.

A Puppy's First Christmas by Holly Webb

Aria is excited to celebrate her puppy’s first Christmas – they’ll make snowmen and eat lots of food, and she’s even bought him a special present with her pocket money! But when Aria’s family come to stay, Jackson becomes over-excited and scares Aria’s younger cousin.

On Christmas morning things only seem to get worse. Jackson is shut out of the living room while gifts are being opened, Aria can’t find his present and then the puppy eats Grandma’s fluffy winter boots! With her parents refusing to take her side, will Aria and Jackson get their perfect Christmas after all?

Happy #BookBirthday!

Happy Thursday! This week there are SEVEN books on our lists publishing!

Going Viral by Katie Cicatelli-Kuc

When Claire Draper's fictional love story goes viral in the wake of a pandemic, the line between reality and fiction is blurred. But will she be able to tell the difference?

Claire is a junior in high school when a worldwide pandemic strikes, and she's in the epicenter of it all in New York City. Suddenly, Claire is forced to isolate with her family indefinitely, which means she won't be able to see her friends or even her girlfriend, Vanessa, in person for a long time.

At first it's not so bad, but the longer the pandemic lasts, the more Claire feels her priorities changing. That's when she looks outside her bedroom window and notices something new: A girl who lives in the building across the street sitting on her fire escape.

So Claire starts writing a story online about a girl who falls for the girl across the street. To Claire's surprise, the story goes viral-and it seems people think it's true. But how true is true? And what if Vanessa finds out? Will Claire be able to manage her newfound internet fame before everything spirals out of control?

Blogtour: It Calls from the Doors (Anthology)

Open the door to your nightmares.

They are the silent guardians of our inner spaces. We throw them open to welcome friends and family. We shut them tight against the darkness and trust them to keep us safe. But they also hide our true natures, ward off intruders, and seal away what can never be allowed to escape.

But, what happens when the thing that we rely on the most, welcomes the bad things in? What happens when our protector becomes the thing we fear?

Turn the key, pull back the bolt, unfasten the latch and let the darkness through. Discover 19 tales of terror and despair that lurk on the other side of the Doors in the fourth instalment of Eerie River Publishing's horror series.

Fledgling by Lucy Hope

A dark, gothic adventure set in the Bavarian forest, with angels and owls and magic and a boy who isn’t all that he seems to be…

A cherub is blown into Cassie Engel’s bedroom during a thunderstorm, triggering a series of terrifying events. Cassie must discover if its arrival was an accident or part of something more sinister.

With a self-obsessed opera singer for a mother, a strange taxidermist father, and a best friend who isn’t quite what he seems, Cassie is forced to unearth the secrets of her family’s past. As the dark forces gather around them, can Cassie protect all that she holds dear?

#Bookpost week ending 31st October

Happy Tuesday, all! We received a few new books this week, plenty to read up on!

You Can Go Your Own Way by Eric Smith

No one ever said love would be easy…but did they mention it would be freezing?

Adam August is in over his head. At least, that’s what his best friend would say. And his mom. And the guy who runs the hardware store down the street. But this pinball arcade is the only piece of his dad that Adam has left, and he’s determined to protect it from Philadelphia’s newest tech mogul who wants to turn it into another one of his cold, lifeless gaming cafes.

Whitney Stillwater doesn’t know how she got here. Her parents split up. Her boyfriend dumped her. Her friends seem to have changed overnight. And now she’s spending her senior year running social media for her dad’s chain of super successful gaming cafes – which mostly consists of trading insults with that decrepit old pinball arcade across town.

But when a huge snowstorm hits, Adam and Whitney suddenly find themselves trapped inside the arcade. Cut off from their families, their worlds, and their responsibilities, the tension between these two seems to melt away, leaving something else in its place – but what happens when the storm stops?

Blame it on the Mistletoe by Beth Garrod

In this funny holiday rom-com, two very different girls swap lives for a Christmas adventure.

Elle is a social medial star with the #DreamLife...or so it seems. Determined to shake up her content and gain new followers, she's on a mission: can she find a British fan to swap with for Christmas?

Holly loves everything about Christmas. But after a mortifying mistletoe disaster with her ex, her perfect plans unravel like a bad Christmas sweater. Can Holly save the holidays when she switches places with favorite social media influencer?

Elle gets more than she bargained for when she meets the cute boy from across the street. And Holly wasn't expecting Elle to have a handsome twin brother. This holiday is full of surprises.